THE MACHINE AGE - Essay Example

Summary of Attached Papers (p.347-353 Robert Tools was the first to receive an AbioCor artificial heart, living only 5 months and also suffering strokes. James Quinn (age 52 at death) was given an AbioCor artificial heart transplant after heart failure. He lived longer than doctors imagined, a total of nine months, most of which was spent hospitalized suffering from strokes and other ailments. His wife and church friends gathered to “pull the plug” after doctors declared him brain dead, at which time he sat up in bed as he died, with his wife crying out that they had killed him.

He is quoted as saying he would not do it again, that the transplant destroyed his quality of life. A $125,000 dollar settlement was given to his wife in 2003 by AbioCor Corporation based on deceit by hospital patient advocates who had encouraged the procedure while actually working for AbioCor. AbioCor was denied FDA approval to sell the heart to extend life. African Americans represent a large number of medical test subjects, even though they are the minority of the population in the US—and they are even less likely to be able to afford expensive procedures tested on them.

Historically, African American women were used as test subjects. Consent forms are required for medical testing, and participants can quit any time. With tests like artificial hearts, however, quitting means dying. AbioCor went a step further and request to be able to test on unconscious subjects that had never given consent. This has been done with PolyHeme artificial blood, but never with a life-threatening procedure like an experimental heart transplant. African Americans are 20% less likely to select to participate in “health proxy” treatments like these, therefore giving the artificial heart without consent would affect African Americans more, making it unjust.

Three Big Points (Summary of the Summary, non-essay form, per your request). 1. The African American patient Robert Tools dies horribly based on an artificial heart transplant by AbioCor Corp. 2. African Americans are disproportionately represented in medical testing based on their representation in the population. 3. Consent forms can confuse patients and automatic consent for unconscious patients will cause increased representation of African Americans in medical testing, which is unethical.

References 1. Attached paper serves as only reference, per customer instructions, no additional citation is provided